


National Pride

by krisherdown



Category: Tennis RPF
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-04-29
Updated: 2009-04-29
Packaged: 2017-12-11 11:05:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/797998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krisherdown/pseuds/krisherdown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>the mixture of blue, red and white filling the crowd always gets to you</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	National Pride

**Author's Note:**

> Based on prompt from _runningmascara.

You were trying to avoid the gold medal match of the Olympics but it's as unavoidable to watch as a Grand Slam final. It's the one event that truly exhibits one's pride in their country.

 

It's a different feel than playing Davis Cup or even making the final of the major in your home country. There, the crowd already has expectations based on their knowledge of the tennis world.

 

At the Olympics, it's less about the tennis and more about the colors. You know that the mixture of blue, red and white filling the crowd always gets to you. In the case of this gold medal match, it's mainly a mixture of red, yellow for Nadal and. yes, blue, red and white. The cameras are focused on the audience so you're trying to determine which country this is from. Not yours, not the US, those you would spot immediately.

 

As you finally see Gonzo stride onto the court, you see a man who understands that pride so well. Four years ago, he was on this very stage, well, the stage in Greece, and got to stand on the podium. Other players, number one players even, succumb to the pressure of playing for their country but not Fernando and there's something irresistible about that. That he can seem so relaxed in what should be a pressure-packed situation but he's repeatedly been unfazed by that level of attention.

 

A year later, Fernando told you that he and Massu could barely walk down the streets in their Chile without flashbulbs going off. As much as he enjoyed the victories in 2004, that element was difficult to deal with. Even if he'd won a Grand Slam title, he doubted it would change anything as far as the people in Chile were concerned.

 

You made him the offer of walking side by side in the streets of Melbourne so he can see first-hand what you deal with isn't quite the same. That next January, he agreed but as the walk goes on, you wondered what was really going on. That feeling only got stronger when he grabbed your hand and dragged you into a restaurant you've passed hundreds of times but hadn't frequented until then. You felt you should have taken advantage of that day but you never seemed to get the words out.

 

Since then, he's moved on and up the rankings, even beating you en route to making an Aussie final himself, but you believe you've almost faded from his consciousness. When you pass each other, whether in a locker room or on the other side of the net, there's a brief wistful look in his eyes that quickly disappears before he puts his game face on and try to give something for his country to celebrate.


End file.
